"Get on your fucking knees!" The man commanded and Jason heard another footstep, this man wasn't alone.
Sam and Jason did as they were told, they knew the consequence of resisting and that was death. Sam glanced over at Jason and Jason at that moment was glad that he didn't kill the boy otherwise these men wouldn't even attempt to do things diplomatically.
"How many of you are there!?" The raspy-voiced man asked but Jason remained silent because he knew if he said the wrong thing, it would be the last thing he said in his life.
"It is just us…" Sam responded, Jason remembered that he was in the military and should be able to take on these guys.
"What the fuck did you want to do to my brother, you sick fucks!" The second man that entered after the first asked.
"We were checking him for marks… You can ask him yourself," Sam said, he was responding rationally despite a huge ass pointed in his direction.
Jason couldn't think nor speak and knew Sam was better suited to handle it because he was used to such situations.
Jason tried to sneak a peek at Sam but heard the sound of the gun making contact with Sam's head, sending him tumbling to the ground.
"I will fucking blow your head off!" The man with the gun screamed.
"H-Hey! We just came looking for food! We meant no harm!" Jason pleaded, he knew that they needed food but they couldn't do any of that if they were dead.
"Shut up or I will blow your friend's head off!" The man threatened and Jason's mouth immediately clamped shut.
He didn't know what to do next, he tried his best but he knew if he spoke further he might make the situation even worse.
Jason took a deep breath as he glanced over at Sam, Sam had a bloodied head with his face on the ground, he wasn't moving.
Jason just hoped that he wasn't dead because he couldn't do this alone.
The child was still frightened from what Jason had just then as the brother quickly went to dress his brother up.
He came into their line of sight and Jason noticed that this one didn't have a gun on him.
This meant that the only person that they had to worry about was the man behind them.
"Hey! Get the fucking gun!" The man behind them barked but this alerted Sam that an opening had presented itself.
Sam knew that this man's attention must have shifted to the pistol at that very moment and suddenly moved his head to the side but this movement prompted an involuntary reaction from the man behind as the shotgun went off.
A loud bang was enough to momentarily daze and affect every sense that Sam had.
Jason was frozen in place because, unlike zombies, he knew all it took to kill him was a single shot and unlike the zombies, humans were intelligent.
Sam swept the man off his feet, but barely and the gun went off once again.
But the gun hit the other man right in the chest, killing him instantly.
Sam proceeded to wrestle the man to the floor and thanks to the effect of the earlier gunshot, Sam was overpowered as the man had slammed the bottom of the gun right in his temple.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" The man screamed as he aligned the barrel of the gun at Sam's head.
[Ding!]
[Options Available!]
[Option A: Leave Same To Die!]
[Option B: Help Sam!]
Jason contemplated because he realized if he allowed Sam to die then he could kill the child without any opposition, he didn't even need to do it with his own hands.
He could make a decision that results in the child's death and that could be something as simple as feeding him to the zombies,
But he needed Sam, the fact that his level was so high showed he was indispensable right now.
Jason knew he had to secure the strongest link in their group and he made a choice at that moment.
Jason had already equipped the pistol during the tussle and he pulled the trigger.
The bullet pierced the man right in the chest and Sam simultaneously kicked him off himself.
That bullet was enough to put an end to the threat but he was still alive and Jason let out a few more shots, some missed the man but a few tore right through his body.
Jason was relieved, he didn't know if it was because he bumped up his dexterity but he knew on a normal day he would have missed all his shots because the gun recoiled.
"J-Jason! You saved my life!" Sam was grateful and he couldn't believe that he pointed the gun at this man.
But there was a momentary silence, it was as if Sam thought Jason would point that gun at him to shoot him but Jason instead, handed him back the pistol.
"We need to leave," Jason said as he got up to his feet, the gun sound would draw the zombies back and had the potential to draw even more zombies.
"What about the kid?" Sam asked Jason, they watched as the child was crying profusely.
"He will be fine, we cannot take him with us. If we took everyone we saw, it might prove to be a problem later." Jason said sternly; it was unfortunate but Sam agreed.
A kid would drag them back and also prove to be a liability beside, he was in the perfect place to survive.
The doors were secured so the zombies couldn't break through, this was realistically the safest place for him to be as he also had food and drinks.
Sam and Jason took what they needed, filling the bags that they had brought to the brim.
"We should reinforce the doors," Sam suggested.
"I agree, I will seal the front door, wait for me at the back," Jason said and Sam nodded.
He had no reason not to trust Jason, he just saved his life.
"Sure," Sam gave him this responsibility as he waited for him at the back door.
Jason took a couple of minutes but he was eventually done.
"Took you long enough," Sam muttered with Jason smiling weakly as both of the men left the store.
They were well on their way back to the motel when the system rang out.
[Ding!]
[Side Quest Completed!]
[Reward: EXP +40!]
Jason looked disgusted with himself. In actuality, he had left the door open for the zombies to come in and they did just that, ripping the child apart.